Shiv Nadar -The Indian entrepreneur
“If you are calm about your ambitions, you become confident of achieving what you set out to do”. The inspiring words of an inspiring man. Shiv Nadar, an Indian entrepreneur, billionaire industrialist founder of HCL Technologies. In 1976 the Indian IT innovator Shiv Nadar co-founded HCL in a garage to make calculators and microprocessors. He became the chairman of HCL Technologies, a $9.9 billion company. It is India’s third-largest software services provider by market cap.
Early Life
He was born to Sivasubramaniya Nadar and Vamasundari Devi on 14 July 1945. Born in a small village of Tamil Nadu in Thoothukudi district. His mother is the sister of S. P. Adithanar, founder of Dina Thanthi newspaper.
He did his studies from Town Higher Secondary School, Kumbakonam. It was the school where the renowned mathematician Ramanujan also studied. Nadar received a pre-university degree in the American College, Madurai. He received a degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore.
Way to first generation Entrepreneur
His career was initiated at Walchand group’s College of Engineering, Pune in 1967. HCL was a dream which was ascended in a canteen back in 1976. One day 8 engineers from the company’s calculator division started talking about their dream.
Like every young man they also thought of leaving their job. They wanted to start their own company and make microcomputers. But unlike others, the 8 of them took action. The colleagues were Ajai Chowdhry, Arjun Malhotra, Yogesh Vaidya, Subhash Arora, DS Puri, Mahendra Pratap and S. Raman. They left their secure jobs and ventured into the risky world of business. To gain the funds they initiated by selling teledigital calculators. In the same year Hindustan Computers Limited, HCL was formed.
It was difficult to get the approval and funds, so they all approached the UP government. The UP government was impressed by the vision of these young entrepreneurs and supported HCL. Two years later they developed India’s first microcomputer, HCL 8C, three years before IBM’s first PC. HCL soon started growing in India. But the founders aim was to take their company international. A year later, HCL ventured outside India. They set up a small office in Singapore.
Rise of HCL
Decades later HCL has shown massive growth. It went on to be a multi-billion-dollar company. It was operating in over 45 countries with around 150,000 employees. Nadar was the biggest investor and founding chariman of NIIT, the multinational IT training company spread in over 30 countries.
44 years after starting HCL according to the latest Forbes figure, Nadar has become the 2nd richest person in India. He is richer than the Hinduja’s, Lakshmi Mital and the Media Mogul Rupert Murdoch.
HCL had spread among different countries and started its operation which had reached the peak of success. HCL has shown its remarkable success in the US, Canada, Africa, Europe, Australia and many more.
In India HCL development centers are located in 15 cities across India. It includes a massive 50 acres campus in Noida. Which can accommodate nearly 25,000 people. HCL also owns a healthcare company, a distribution and service company, HCL Infosystem. They have recently acquired a semiconductor design services firm and a Mumbai-based engineering services company. HCL manages IT infrastructure for one of the biggest stock exchanges, ATM’s, multiple government organizations and oil and gas companies. The company also regularly organizes cyber security hackathons.
HCL has not only marked its footsteps on business but also has been involved in multiple social projects. It includes developmental work in 170 Gram Panchayats, supporting multiple NGOs through HCL Grant, educational institutions. They have also established museums of art.
Awards and Recognition
In 2008, Nadar was the recipient of the third-highest civilian award Padma Bhushan for his contribution to IT Industry.
In the year 1995, he became the Dataquest IT Man. He was awarded the CNBC Business Excellence Award in 2005. In 2006 Nadar gained an honorary fellowship from the All India Management Association.
Madras University awarded him an honorary doctorate degree in 2007. He was recognized as E&Y Entrepreneur of the year in the same year.
Nadar received the Dataquest Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010. He was counted amongst Forbes’ 48 heroes of Philanthropy in the Asia Pacific in 2011.
India Today magazine ranked Nadar on number 16t in India’s most powerful people in the 2017 list.
Shiv Nadar, the chairman of HCL, has committed more than $1 billion to philanthropy. In 2019, he donated over $100 million. He handed over the position to Roshni Nadar Malhotra in July 2020. Glancing at such an inspiring journey that started with few colleagues having similar future plans. HCL has certainly come a long way, to be present all over the world.
